guest MIC DROP

By Kelley Carlton

IN 2004, I was fortunate enough to be appointed as a voting member of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame thanks to a nomination from my good friend Tony Hammett. I was so honored by the recommendation and I was quick to agree to the responsibility when Bill Holder called me that day. Little did I know then how much I would fall in love with and become involved with the Hall of Fame. Just a few years ago I was named the Secretary of the Board of the Hall of Fame, a position which would allow me to give my input on the future of the Hall of Fame. Then, 14 years after his nomination I had the privilege to be the officer to induct Tony into the Hall of Fame.

The sitting Board of Directors, which includes President Gerald Newton; Vice President James Essex; Treasurer David Poole; Induction Director Bob Markos; and myself, have developed some very ambitious plans for a new building to house the Hall of Fame. We know that it is a mountain to climb to raise the funds needed to build the building we need to allow for future growth. However, I don’t think any of us expected the fundraising effort to be quite so difficult. We all put in plenty of time and effort, but the largescale donations that we had hoped would come our way have simply not materialized. As a 501-c3 non-profit we have also sought multiple grants to no avail.

In that time, however, even in the midst of the pandemic, our efforts have certainly yielded some results. Two years ago, the board made the decision to make some upgrades to our current building in an effort to increase and improve our visibility. We have hundreds and hundreds of visitors annually, many of whom donate every time they stop in. We continue to work with tracks around the country doing 50/50 raffles and whatnot to raise funds. We felt we needed to let our visitors see that we are in fact looking to pay proper tribute to all the members of the Hall of Fame. So when you make your way to the Hall of Fame, you will notice some significant changes to the space. We realize that though our current building is not our permanent home, it is for the foreseeable future.

If you haven’t visited in a while, we invite you to come back. You will notice fresh new displays, more walking room, climate control, new video presentations and in general just a more tidy and neat appearance. Board Treasurer David Poole and our amazing group of volunteers led by curator Jim Cliett have done much of the work to the building. And we think they have done a fantastic job with it.

The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame is a non-profit entity that was built with and solely survives on donations and fund-raisers. Founder Bill Holder and the board did a remarkable job in building the Hall of Fame building with the very limited amount of funding that they have. The Hall was very fortunate that the King family stepped up and donated the land on which the Hall of Fame building now sits on at Florence Speedway.

Over the years some have questioned the location of the Hall of Fame. But let’s face it, Florence is really at the true geographical center of Dirt Late Model Racing. When you plot the true strongest regions of Dirt Late Model Racing, Florence is essentially right in the middle. The Hall of Fame stands alone as the only other attraction at the speedway. And let’s face it, over the last five years or so, Florence has laid claim to what most consider one of the most prestigious Dirt Late Model events in the country with the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100.

So I submit and call upon you today –as a fan of this sport – do what you can to support the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Come and visit it. Make a donation when and if you can. Bring a friend to visit if you can. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame is not perfect. But what it is, is ours.

What I can tell you with great certainty is that those that are enshrined within its walls are as proud as any other athlete or contributor to other such halls of fame. So take the time to walk around the Hall of Fame. Soak in the photos and video presentations. Check out the cool race cars and artifacts on display. And if you have any love at all for this sport, afford some respect for our Hall of Fame and be proud we have it.